Thread: Can you do any better?

I went to an estimate the other day, they call me 3 hours later ask if I have it ready. I actually had done it and gave them a price, immediately the lady asks me if I can do better. This will be my third year and i am very busy , usually I would have cut a couple hundred off. Instead I say"Yeah, I CAN do better, it will be three hundred dollars more. There was a pause and I said "Hello, did you hear me and the phone went dead" Made my week, I will no longer negotiate with potential clients, I've had enough!

Mbella, negotiating to me means can you give a better price if we delete something...not give us this for less. Believe me i am very reasonable, i gave an old lady an estimate today to do a cleanup for 250 dollars, barely worth my time but she is getting her knees replaced next week. I just get mad when people blatantly want money off literally seconds after I give them a price. Why did I give them a price in the first place? maybe its the 13 hour days this week, but gee whiz.....

Hey that was a "great line. but you must of been alittle feed up?"...My standard responce is that I always give my best price 1st!...When your in the mood ask them what they had in mind?....Say i gave a fert. price of $300.00 to feed the shrubs & they wanted a lower price.....I'd than offer them a foliar feed for $50.00 less[ that would reduce my labour by alot, reduce my materials, and save themselves $50.00 bucks]...I guess we'd all win?- regards Saxon

I usually will give a high price 1st,allowing some room for negotiation cuz people love to think they are getting a deal.I then allow them to haggle me down to my real estimate and we agree.
It makes them soo happy to think I will make less money for some strange reason so I let them believe I am taking a beating on the job

and they are happy and I am getting my real $,Also this helps if they don't want to talk you down your automaticly making more $ and it can cover in case of problems encountered on the job.I know it's strange but it works for me with all my wanting to get a deal clients

I did something pretty close the other day, I gave an estimate for a weed clean up and the lady called complaining about how ridiculous the price was. I tried to explain that i dont hike my prices and even gave her the idea to call and get some other estimates she said no just do the job. I called back the next day after stewing over her comments and told her that i miscalulated my estimate in order to give her the price on the spot and told her it would be $150 more than first expected. I just wanted burst out laughing when I heard her "whaaaaaat"????????